Ongoing battle against invasive cherry laurel

Invasive species are one of the top three pressures on Irish nature, causing serious harm to our precious remaining natural areas and taking up significant time and resources to remove or manage — and cherry laurel is among these invasive plants says Oisín Ó Néill of the Gaelic Woodland Project

Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is a plant that's native to the Balkans and the Caucuses — it is an invasive species in Ireland

Cherry laurel is a highly invasive plant causing widespread ecological harm to Irish woodlands, it is recognised by all our environmental agencies as a high impact invasive species and is now the second most common non‑native shrub in Irish woodlands.

Despite clear evidence of its ecological impact, and public calls for stronger regulation, including from the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, it remains unregulated and widely sold across Ireland. This contrasts sharply with other invasive plants, which have long been banned from sale.